Payoff Review: Getting Credit Card Payments Back On Track

If you’re facing credit card debt, you’re not alone. In fact, Americans are facing a record high in National credit card debts. Credit card debt can pile up faster than we can keep track.

It’s not fun, but getting your finances back in control is incredibly important. And that’s where services like Payoff help.

What is payoff?

Payoff provides loans exclusively for people with credit card debt. They’re all about empowering their users to stay on track with their finances. They help you decide what loan structure is best for you and even check in with you every few months.

Rather than keeping track of multiple credit card payments every month, Payoff gives you one loan to consolidate all of the credit card debt. All you have to do is pay Payoff back every month rather than keeping track of each credit card.

How does payoff work?

Payoff lends you money to pay off your credit card debt. You pay this loan back to them in monthly installments with a fixed interest rate over a certain number of months. Easy. Plus you get support from a Member Advocate on a regular basis.

Getting started

Before you get started, make sure you’re eligible for a Payoff loan. Here are the minimum requirements:

• A minimum FICO score of 640
• A debt-to-income ratio (DTI) of no more than 50 percent
• Three or more years of good credit history
• Two open and satisfactory trades with no more than one installment loan within the last 12 months
• Zero current credit delinquencies, and no credit delinquencies greater than 90 days within the last 12 months

Choosing your loan

Before you actually apply, you need to pick the type of loan you want. This process can be done entirely online.

After entering your initial financial information (birthday, address, annual income), you will be presented with one or more loan package options. Choose the one with the terms and rates that best fit your situation or chat about it with your designated Member Advocate.

This process doesn’t involve any payment up front and it won’t affect your credit score since it is only a soft inquiry into your credit report.

Applying for the loan

To complete the in-depth application, you’ll need to upload more documents. The exact ones depend on the individual, but will generally include:

• Proof of identification (e.g. a driver’s license or passport)
• Proof of income (e.g. 2 recent pay stubs)
• Financial documentation (your last monthly bank statement or mortgage statement)

After you apply, one of their agents will contact you if they need more documentation. Payoff will then do a hard pull before the loan is finalized, which will be listed on your credit report as an inquiry for two years.

What’s great is that a Member Advocate will reach out to you whether you’re approved or denied to update you on your application status. It can take three-to-six business days for approval once you’ve submitted your application.

Getting your money

Payoff has four federally-insured Lending Partners—Alliant Credit Union, First Electronic Bank, First Tech Federal Credit Union, and Technology Credit Union—who will deposit the money into your checking account three-to-seven business days after being approved.

Terms of the loan and the fees

Loans can be between $5,000-35,000 with an APR of 5.99-24.99 percent and a one-time origination fee of 0.00-5.00 percent. This fee is deducted directly from your loan amount before being deposited into your bank account, so make sure you accommodate for it when calculating how much money you need to borrow.

And you won’t find any other fees involved like application fees, check processing, early or extra payment, returned checks, late payments, or annual fees. You only have to make the one fixed-rate monthly payment.

Payoff also has a fair amount of flexibility in their payback structure with terms between 24-60 months. Just remember that while longer terms mean you can borrow larger amounts of money while keeping your monthly payments down, you will end up paying more in interest overall.

Payoff features

Payoff has a few features that make it an attractive option for consolidating your credit card debts.

Customer-centered support

In addition to standard customer support and an online chat feature for basic questions, you will have access to a Member Advocate. During the first year of your loan, Member Advocates will provide a welcome call, and quarterly check-ins.

Their philosophy is based around empowerment science and they aim to provide tools to help you better understand yourself and your relationship with money through assessments of cash flow, stress, and scientific personality.

Throughout the term of your loan, a support team of financial services professionals, psychologists, technologists, and data scientists provide tools and services to help you reach your goals faster.

Free monthly credit check

You will have access to a free FICO score check to see what’s happening every month to your credit score.

Payoff advertises that members who paid off at least $5,000 in credit card balances within the first four months of receiving their loan saw an average increase of 40 points in their FICO score.

Job loss support

If you’ve lost your job, Payoff offers special options to accommodate your potential financial instability and help you manage your payments more easily. As a loyal member, you will be able to work out a plan until you figure something out.

Payment flexibility

There will be no problem if you missed a payment. You and your Member Advocate can work together to create a plan to catch up with no automatic late fee. Payoff offers options like payment deferral, changing the date of your payment, or skipping a payment.

All in all, it is a transparent online lender with largely positive reviews from customers who found it to be a useful way to pay off out-of-control debts.

Who should use payoff?

Those with good credit

Payoff is a good option if you have good credit history and are looking for an alternative to paying high interest on credit card debt.

Anyone who wants a simple payment structure

Payoff’s simple, consolidated payment structure is also great for people who are overwhelmed with multiple credit card payments each month.

Even if your monthly payment is higher than it would have been for your credit cards, Payoff will help you save in the long run by paying back less interest.

People looking for good customer service

Anyone who values customer service support will benefit from the quarterly check-in calls from their Member Advocates.

If you need a bit more structure, it’s the perfect way to stay on track.

Who shouldn’t use payoff?

Anyone below 18 years old

If you aren’t old enough to vote, don’t bother applying for a Payoff loan. You must be at least 18 years old and have valid social security and a valid checking account to apply.

Those looking for a joint application

Loans are available to individuals only. This service is not for people with a spouse looking for a joint application.

Select states

Additionally, Payoff loans are not available to residents of Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, or West Virginia.

Anyone looking for a lower APR

Payoff’s rates are on par with other competitive loan offerings, so this is not for people looking for a significantly lower APR.

Those looking to pay off non-credit card debt

Lastly, don’t use Payoff if you are looking for a personal loan for reasons other than credit card debt consolidation.

Payoff compared to other lenders

Summary

Payoff is definitely a great option for anyone who needs a little bit of support in getting their credit card payments back on track. If you qualify for their service, Payoff may be just what you need.